RNC targets Asian voters in Virginia governor's race

The Republican National Committee went on a Korean cable channel over the weekend with an ad attacking Terry McAuliffe, part of a broader party effort to reach Asians in the Virginia governor’s race.

The 30-second spot, running in the Washington, D.C., media market on WKTV, highlights the Democratic candidate’s ties to GreenTech Automotive, which allegedly tried to secure financing in exchange for helping investors get U.S. visas through a sister company.

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“McAuliffe’s company is under federal investigation for potentially defrauding money from Asian investors,” a narrator says in Korean. “We can’t afford to have Terry McAuliffe’s brand of crony politics in Richmond.”

The commercial concludes by saying that Cuccinelli “will control government spending and focus on our economy.”

RNC officials said they are spending about $90,000 to buy TV, radio and print ads across Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indian and Filipino media ahead of the Nov. 5 off-year election. They hope to learn lessons from the commonwealth that will help sharpen similar efforts in the 2014 midterms and the 2016 presidential campaign.

The face of Virginia is changing, and both campaigns have spent a great deal of time trying to make inroads with the diverse array of “New Virginia” voters.

The RNC conducted a poll of the Korean community in Virginia earlier this month, which found that President Barack Obama is still viewed very favorably but that Korean-Americans generally identify with conservative principles and are willing to split their tickets. Other research has found that the Asian-American Pacific Islander demographic more broadly is very pro-business.

Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-Va.) and Mitt Romney spent money on Asian-language ads here in the past, but the RNC said this is the first time that they have done this kind of targeting in the state. Asians made up 2 percent of the electorate in the 2009 off-year race and 3 percent in the 2012 presidential election, according to exit polls.

Four years ago, the RNC spent $9.2 million on the Virginia governor’s race – mostly for traditional, broadcast ads. This year, conserving difficult-to-raise hard money for next year, they are spending about a third as much money and focusing instead on ways that they can get the most bang for their buck.

Creating a permanent, national field organization focused on minority engagement is a major part of the GOP’s “Growth and Opportunity Project,” ordered up by Chairman Reince Priebus in the wake of the party’s poor performance among non-whites in 2012.

The RNC hired a national field director and communications director at party headquarters earlier this year for Asian American Pacific Island outreach.

Four staffers have been assigned to focus on Virginia full-time, one for each of the Vietnamese, Indian, Korean and Filipino communities.

RNC workers have spent time, for example, at a naturalization ceremony in Fairfax, the Korean Festival in Centreville, the Pakistani Independence Day celebration in Manassas and India Independence Day in Annandale. In Falls Church, they worked the Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in Falls Church and a Human Rights for Vietnam Rally.

On Monday, the RNC will announce a “Virginia AAPI Advisory Council” to give input to state party leaders.